MSU saw more than 28,000 freshmen applications, and admitted more than 20,000 of them. Officials anticipate nearly 8,000 to actually attend, which would surpass last fall's 7,174 incoming freshmen.

“That’s probably the highest
admissions number we’ve had over the past five or ten years, and it’s
going to be reflected in the size of the class,” MSU Office of Admissions Senior Associate Director Mike Cook told The State News.

MSU also saw increases in international and out-of-state applications. Director of Admissions Jim Cotter told The State News it's "probably the most diverse applicant pool we've ever had at MSU."

With high freshmen enrollment expected, MSU has yet to decide whether it will accept transfer applications for the upcoming spring semester, Beau Hayhoe writes in The State News.

That will depend on how many students accept admission offers this fall and how many of the 400 to 500 previously admitted transfer students accept offers for the spring.

Cotter told The State News he expects MSU to set a new applications record in 2012, noting that applications could number past 30,000.